The present invention relates to a system and method for displaying expiration dates for consumer products, and more particularly, relates to an environmentally modulated expiration date display that adjusts the expiration date to reflect changes resulting from environmental factors.
Various consumer products have associated expiration dates after which the product is no longer considered effective, or safe, for its intended use. For example, many foods have expiration dates after which the food is no longer considered fresh.
Expiration dates presuppose that a product has been maintained under assumed conditions, which may or may not be the conditions that the product is actually subjected to. In determining an expiration date to pre-print on a product, uncertainty as to how a product will be stored may warrant conservative estimates, especially when use of an expired product may have costly consequences. For example, a medicinal product might reasonably have a long shelf life, but shorter expiration estimates may be appropriate to avoid even a small risk that a patient will not receive a prescribed dosage of medicine.
Another example is ice cream. Ice cream typically has an expiration date one year from manufacture. However, if it is not kept at the required freezing temperature, then the shelf life of the ice cream is drastically reduced. Also, when the container is opened and air is introduced into the container, the environmental conditions change significantly in a manner not accounted for on the preprinted expiration date on the container. Similarly, containers of copier toner, postage meter ink, or cleaning solvents may have significantly altered shelf lives depending on the environmental conditions they experience.
The accuracy of an expiration date is dependent upon the integrity of the product packaging. If the seal on a container fails, the container wall is punctured, or the product is tampered with then the product may become contaminated or deteriorate. In the case of a carbonated beverage or fine wine a breach in the container seal ends the xe2x80x9cstoragexe2x80x9d phase of the product life cycle and initiates the xe2x80x9cconsumptionxe2x80x9d phase of the product life cycle in which the expiration date is significantly shortened. The current expiration date system uses static information and does not base the information on the conditions within the container at hand.
Conventional product packaging does not offer dynamic adjustment to the expiration date in response to environmental conditions in a manner that provides credibility and accuracy to the expiration date.
To meet the shortcomings of the existing art, the present invention provides a method and system for an environmentally modulated expiration date display that adjusts the expiration date to reflect the environmental changes experienced by the product.
The invention preferably utilizes an LCD display with a date (and possibly a time) set to display a future expiration date for a product. In the preferred embodiment, a clock associated with the LCD display is preset to the most remote expected expiration date, under the assumption that the product will be stored under conditions to achieve maximum shelf life. The clock is designed to run in reverse, that is, to run towards a time closer to the present. Sensors detect environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, container seal integrity, and other relevant factors, as the case may be. When preset environmental boundary conditions are met (e.g. the container is opened, or the temperature rises above freezing) the clock starts, causing the displayed expiration date to move towards the present. Fuzzy logic, linear logic, lookup tables, or preprogrammed proportional relationships are used to modulate the clock speed based on deviation of the environmental conditions from preferred values. Alternatively the clock can be preset to an expected expiration date and clock can extend or shorten the expiration date based on whether favorable or unfavorable conditions are present.
The expiration display, according to the present invention, will also provide preset text messages to signify when a product should be used immediately, or whether the product is no longer usable.
The invention also allows for identification of improper shipping conditions (a grocery store can check expiration date on newly delivered product; if ice cream should have a 1 year expiration date but it reports only 3 months then the batch has been warmed in transit and the life shortened). The dynamic expiration dates allow the store to seek compensation from the shipper. It also allows a grocery story to place the food with the shortest life expectancy in the front of the shelf (today this is done by placing the xe2x80x9coldestxe2x80x9d stock in the front of the shelf). Storage conditions, however, may have caused other product inventory to have the least remaining shelf life. Rotation of the stock is based on actual shelf life not the static date.
The expiration date display of the present invention may also be used to advise that the product has experienced a temporary condition that makes it unfit for current use. The display can also report when a product that is not yet ready for use becomes ready, or when a product reaches peak quality for consumption.
In addition to monitoring environmental conditions, the present invention may also be used detect the condition of the product itself, and to determine whether the product is in a condition that is no longer usable. For example, products like milk, juice, or wine become sour when they xe2x80x9cgo bad.xe2x80x9d The present invention can monitor the pH of product and report when it is starting to pass its prime, and when it is no longer usable.
Thus an advantage of the present invention is that accurate expiration dates can be provided on products. When products are exposed to adverse environmental conditions the displayed expiration date changes to reflect those conditions. When threshold events, such as breaking a seal on the package occur the predicted shelf life and expiration date are adjusted and displayed accordingly.
It will also be apparent that the present invention may be applicable for tamper detection. Where conventional packaging offers simple protection against tampering, such as a non-reusable foil seal, the present invention can enhance tamper detection by monitoring conditions of the package. For example, an embodiment of the present invention that detects that a vacuum seal has been broken for the purposes of expiration date modification, may also be used for tamper detection, even where a container has been breached at a location other than the tamper resistant foil.